The University of Washington recently published a study in the mental health journal, Psychiatric Services, to determine the efficiency of Seattle’s mental health services and whether the majority of addicts or people with psychiatric disorders seeking treatment were deterred based on social stigmas.

The study was conducted in conjunction with the Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness and Medically Vulnerable Populations, or CHAMMP. CHAMMP and the University of Washington’s psychology Department, the Harborview Medical Center, worked together to interview the staff of fifteen local community health care clinics.  The interviews were 90 minutes long and asked staff members to relate their personal experiences of addicts and mentally ill individuals’ treatment at the clinics.

The results of the study showed that current approaches to psychotherapy and addiction recovery treatments in Seattle needed to embrace more positive practices and had to be more readily available throughout the community, especially when it came to the handling of individuals with disadvantaged status who sought treatment.

Based on the findings, the researches suggested that many Seattle residents living with mental health disorders and chemical dependence issues were reluctant to seek professional help due to the lack of available services, and even more so, in impoverished portions of the city.  As it stands, the problems of low funding for clinics, poor organization and a more beneficial attitude toward the person seeking treatment must be improved to ensure better results.